Wireless network supporting extended coverage of service

ABSTRACT

A communications access point may provide access to a wireless communications network to a user device located at a first location. The communications access point may determine that the user device is moving from the first location to a second location where access to the wireless network is limited or not available. In response to the determination, the communications access point may provide access to the wireless network at the second location by extending a coverage area of the wireless network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/011,728, filed on Feb. 1, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/475,045, filed on May 18, 2012 (now U.S.Pat. No. 9,295,022). All of the above priority applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The promulgation of wireless technology has facilitated access tonetworks such as the Internet at virtually any location. Devices such aslaptops, tablets, mobile phones, and other portable computing devicesare provided with the capability of accessing a variety of wirelessnetworks, such as cellular broadband networks, Wi-Fi hotspots andwireless local area networks (WLANs). Accordingly, users areincreasingly relying on their devices to consume high bandwidthapplications and data, such as streaming video, while traveling from onelocation to another.

However, when a traveling user encounters an area with little or nowireless connectivity, such as a “dead zone,” the user's device may bedisconnected from the wireless network. As a result, the user'sexperience is negatively impacted by the loss of service. In addition,the typical solution of adding new communications towers to extendnetwork coverage in the “dead zone” has the problematic effect of addedcosts and delayed network availability.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for improvements in extendingnetwork coverage.

SUMMARY

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, systems andmethods are provided for extending the coverage area of a wirelessnetwork for a moving device. In one aspect, by knowing or learning auser's geographical route in advance, the wireless network's datacoverage area may be extended to cover areas through which the user andassociated devices will travel.

In an embodiment, a service provider may provide, at a first time (e.g.,a present time), access to a wireless communications network to a userdevice at a first geographic location (e.g., a particular latitude,longitude). The service provider may also provide the infrastructure forthe wireless communications network, e.g., using a local office and oneor more communications access points. The user device may be connectedto the wireless network at the first location or may be authorized to(e.g., via a subscription) access the wireless network. The serviceprovider may then determine whether the user device is traveling to asecond location where the wireless communications network is notavailable at the first time. The second location may be a predicted orestimated location at some future point in time and may be determinedbased on changes in the user device's geographic location, user inputindicating the user's planned route of travel, other informationindicating the user's route of travel or future locations (e.g., socialmedia information, calendar messages, electronic messages, userpreference information), or any other suitable information orcombination of information. For example, the service provider maydetermine whether the user device is or will be traveling towards anarea where service may be limited or unavailable, e.g., a communications“dead zone,” and, if so, predict or estimate the time that the userdevice will arrive there. In some implementations, the determination maybe initiated in response to determining that the first location is alocation within a predetermined range (e.g., 0.5 miles) of the wirelesscoverage area provided at the first time to the user device at the firstlocation. If the service provider determines that the user device istraveling to a location where the wireless network is not presentlyavailable, the service provider may provide access to the wirelesscommunications network to the user device at the second location byextending the coverage area of the wireless communications network.

In some embodiments, the coverage area of the wireless communicationsnetwork may be extended, for example, by dynamically changing the power,direction, or both of the communications access point (e.g., by changingthe direction, gain, or any other suitable parameter of thecommunications access point's wireless antenna) to extend a coveragearea or form a different wireless coverage area. In some embodiments,the coverage area of the wireless network may be extended byconcentrating the wireless network to form an overlapping wirelesscoverage area based on location density information for a population ofusers or user devices. In some embodiments, the coverage area of thewireless network may be extended by transferring service to anotherwireless network or, when multiple wireless networks are available,selecting one of the available wireless networks and instructing theuser device to transfer service to the selected wireless network. Forexample, the service provider may select one of the available networksbased on security levels, bandwidth availability, usage cost, accessauthorization, and other suitable criteria that may indicate the bestwireless network for the user device's use.

In some embodiments, the service provider may determine location densityinformation for a population of user devices, users (e.g., wirelesssubscribers), or both and provide the wireless communications network,or access thereto, based on the location density information. Forexample, the service provider may provide, at the first time, thewireless communications network based on first location densityinformation indicative of the respective locations and bandwidthconsumption levels of a population of user devices. The service providermay subsequently determine that one or more of the user devices arerespectively being moved, e.g., traveling, to one or more differentlocations (e.g., actual locations, predicted locations) based on changesin the user device's geographic location, changes in bandwidthconsumption levels, user input indicating one or more planned routes oftravel, other information indicating users' routes of travel (e.g.,social media information, calendar messages, electronic messages, userpreference information), or any other suitable information orcombination of information. If the service provider determines that oneor more user devices are respectively traveling to one or more differentlocations, the service provider may determine second location densityinformation by, for example, updating the first location densityinformation to reflect the changes in the locations and bandwidthconsumption levels of the population of user devices. The serviceprovider may subsequently provide the wireless communications network ina second wireless coverage area different from the first wirelesscoverage area based on the second location density information.

This summary is not intended to identify required or essential featuresof the disclosures herein, but instead merely summarizes certainfeatures and variations thereof. Other details and features will also bedescribed in the sections that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some features described herein are illustrated by way of example, andnot by way of limitation, in the accompanying figures in which likereference numerals refer to similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware and software platform on whichvarious elements described herein may be implemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example network environment for extendingcoverage.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example network environment for extendingcoverage.

FIG. 5 illustrates example location information for a plurality of userdevices.

FIG. 6 illustrates example predicted location information for aplurality of user devices.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process flow for providing access to anetwork at a location where access was not previously available.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process flow for extending the coveragearea of a network.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process flow for providing a wirelesscommunications network based on location density information for apopulation of user devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information distribution network 100 onwhich many of the various features described herein may be implemented.The illustrated information distribution environment is only one exampleof a suitable network environment and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the disclosure.The illustrated network environment should not be interpreted as havingany dependency or requirement relating to any component or combinationof components in an information distribution environment. It will beappreciated that the term “network” may refer to either network 100 or alower-tier network that is within network 100. It will be appreciatedthat the terms “networks” may refer to only lower-tier networks that arewithin network 100.

Network 100 may be a telecommunications network, a multi-serviceoperator (MSO) network, a cable television (CATV) network, a cellularnetwork, a wireless network, an optical fiber network, a coaxial cablenetwork, a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network, or any other suitabletype of information distribution network or combination of networks. Forexample, network 100 may be a cellular broadband network communicatingwith multiple communications access points, such as communicationsaccess point 120, to, to provide communication signals to devices suchas wireless device 116 c (e.g., a mobile phone, a wireless laptop, atablet computer, a portable gaming device) and vehicular computingsystem 117 b (e.g., a mobile computing system, navigation system, orentertainment system in an automobile, marine vessel, or aircraft). Inanother example, network 100 may be a system comprising a terminationsystem (TS) (e.g., optical or cable modem termination system)communicating with numerous gateway interface devices (e.g., gatewayinterface device 111 in example home 102 a). In another example, thenetwork 100 may be a fiber-optic service system comprising opticalfibers extending from an optical line terminal (OLT) to numerous opticalnetwork terminals (ONTs) communicatively coupled with various gatewayinterface devices. In another example, the network 100 may be a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) system that includes local office 103communicating with numerous gateway interface devices. In anotherexample, network 100 may be an HFC network in which network, e.g.,Internet, traffic is routed over both optical and coaxial communicationpaths to a gateway interface device in or near a user's home. Variousaspects of the disclosure may operate on one or more of the networksdescribed herein or any other suitable network architectures now knownor later developed.

Network 100 may use a series of interconnected communication links 101(e.g., coaxial cables, optical fibers, wireless links, etc.) to connectpremises such as homes 102 or other user environments to local office103. Communication links 101 may include any suitable wiredcommunication links, wireless communication links, communicationsnetworks, or combinations thereof. For example, portions ofcommunication links 101 may be implemented with fiber-optic cable, whileother portions of communication links 101 may be implemented withcoaxial cable. Communication links 101 may also include variouscommunications components such as splitters, filters, amplifiers,wireless components, and other suitable components for communicatingdata. Data may include, for example, internet data, voice data, weatherdata, media content, and any other suitable information. Media contentmay include, for example, video content, audio content, media on demand,video on demand, streaming video, television programs, text listings,graphics, advertisements, and other suitable content.

Local office 103 may transmit downstream information signals ontocommunication links 101, and each of homes 102 may receive and processthose signals. In certain implementations, communication links 101 mayoriginate from local office 103 as a single communications path, and maybe split into any suitable number of communication links to distributedata to homes 102 and various other destinations. Although the term homeis used by way of example, homes 102 may include any type of userenvironment, such as single family homes, apartment complexes,businesses, schools, hospitals, parks, and other suitable environmentsand combinations of environments.

Local office 103 may include interface 104, which may be a computingdevice configured to manage communications between devices on thenetwork of communication links 101 and backend devices, such as server105, server 106, and server 107. For example, interface 104 may be atermination system (TS) such as cable modem termination system (CMTS).The TS may be as specified in a standard, such as, in an example of anHFC-type network, the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification(DOCSIS) standard, published by Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. TheTS may be configured to transmit data over one or more downstreamchannels or frequencies to be received by various devices, such asmodems in homes 102, and to receive upstream communications from thosemodems on one or more upstream frequencies.

Local office 103 may include one or more network interfaces 108 forcommunicating with one or more external networks 109. One or moreexternal networks 109 may include, for example, one or moretelecommunications networks, Internet Protocol networks, mobilecommunications networks (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and any other suitable 2nd,3rd, 4th and higher generation cellular communications networks),cellular broadband networks, radio access networks, fiber-opticnetworks, local wireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMAX), satellitenetworks, and any other suitable networks or combinations of networks.One or more network interfaces 108 may include the correspondingcircuitry needed to communicate with one or more external networks 109and with devices accessible through one or more external networks 109.For example, one or more external networks 109 may communicate with oneor more content sources, such as multicast or unicast video sources,which may supply video streams for ultimate consumption by various userdevices such as client devices. Devices may include, but are not limitedto, personal computers (PCs), server computers, hand-held or laptopcomputing devices, tablet computing devices, netbook computers,vehicular computing systems, set-top boxes (STBs), digital videorecorders (DVRs), programmable consumer electronics, mobile or cellularphones, smart phones, media player devices, entertainment devices,security monitoring devices, medical monitoring devices, electronicapparel, game consoles, and any other suitable devices or combinationsof devices.

Local office 103 may include a variety of servers that may be configuredto perform various functions. For example, local office 103 may includeone or more push servers 105 for generating push notifications todeliver data, commands, or both to devices that are configured to detectsuch notifications. In another example, push server 105 may transmit aninstruction to a device to transfer service from one wireless network orcommunications access point to another wireless network orcommunications access point.

Local office 103 may include one or more content servers 106 configuredto provide content (e.g., media content) to devices. Content server 106may include software to validate device identities and entitlements,locate and retrieve requested content, encrypt content, and initiatedelivery of content to the requesting device.

Local office 103 may include one or more application servers 107.Application server 107 may be, for example, a computing deviceconfigured to offer any desired service, and may run various languagesand operating systems (e.g., servlets and JSP pages running onTomcat/MySQL, OSX, BSD, Ubuntu, Redhat, HTML5, JavaScript, AJAX andCOMET). For example, application server 107 may be used to implement acache server for the content found on content server 106. Anotherexample application server may be used to provide mobile televisionservices, media on demand services, videoconferencing or video chatservices, telemedicine services, location-based services, or any othersuitable service or combination of services. Another example applicationserver may be responsible for collecting geographic location informationfor devices communicatively coupled to network 100. Another exampleapplication server may be responsible for monitoring user viewing habitsfor use in selecting advertisements. Another example application servermay be responsible for formatting and inserting advertisements in avideo stream being transmitted to various devices.

In certain implementations, local office 103 may determine if a deviceis authorized to access a network communicatively coupled to localoffice 103. For example, local office 103 may authenticate devicesrequesting access to a wireless network using an authentication tablestored in any suitable storage device, such as in the memory of server107. The authentication table may contain authentication information(e.g., username/password, pre-shared key, media access control (MAC)address or other unique identifier) for various devices and may allowfor enhanced user experience and bandwidth efficiencies due to fasterauthentication times and increased ease of network connection. Incertain implementations, local office 103 may determine which networks adevice is authorized to access when multiple networks are available tothe device (e.g., the device is located in an area with overlappingwireless coverage areas). For example, local office 103 may determine ifa device is authorized to access a particular network using asymmetricencryption/authentication where the device may be equipped with theapplicable public key that matches that of local office 103's privatekey. In this case, the device and local office 103 may securely exchangea shared secret key and, after authenticating that the key is valid, thedevice may be authorized to access the network, a storage device, or anyother suitable component. In another example, symmetricencryption/authentication may be used.

Homes 102 such as home 102 a may include an interface 130, which mayinclude device 110, for communicating on communication links 101 withlocal office 103, one or more external networks 109, or both. Forexample, device 110 may be a coaxial cable modem (for coaxial cablelinks 101), a broadband modem (for DSL links 101), a fiber interfacenode (for fiber-optic links 101), or any other device or combination ofdevices. In certain implementations, device 110 may be a part of, orcommunicatively coupled to, gateway interface device 111. Gateway 111may be, for example, a wireless router, a set-top box, a computerserver, or any other computing device or combination. For purposes ofillustration and not of limitation, it will be understood that the term“gateway” refers to a gateway computing device with Wi-Fi or otherwireless network capability, such as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Gateway interface device 111 may be any suitable computing device forcommunicating with device 110 to allow one or more other devices inexample home 102 a to communicate with local office 103, one or moreexternal networks 109, or other devices communicatively coupled thereto.Gateway 111 may be, for example, a wireless router, a set-top box, acomputer server, or any other suitable computing device or combination.For example, gateway 111 may be a wireless router and provide anindirect communications path, such as a backhaul connection, to theInternet through local office 103. Gateway 111 may route different mediaformats (e.g., data, voice, video) and may support unicast, broadcast,multicast, or any other suitable communications traffic.

Gateway 111 may include local network interfaces to providecommunication signals to devices such as client devices in or nearexample home 102 a, such as television 112, set-top box 113, personalcomputer 114, laptop computer 115, wireless devices 116 a-b (e.g.,wireless laptops, tablet computers, mobile phones, portable gamingdevices), vehicular computing system 117 a (e.g., a mobile computingsystem, navigation system, or entertainment system in an automobile,marine vessel, or aircraft) and any other suitable device. Local networkinterfaces may include, for example, Multimedia Over Coax Alliance(MoCA) interfaces, Ethernet interfaces, universal serial bus (USB)interfaces, wireless interfaces (e.g., IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16),Bluetooth interfaces, and other suitable interfaces. In certainimplementations, gateway 111 may provide different wired and wirelessnetworks for the devices in example home 102 a using different types ofwireless components. For example, a first device (e.g., laptop 115 withwireless 802.11a/b/g/n capabilities) may connect to a private networkprovided by gateway 111, while a second device (e.g., wireless device116) may connect to a public Wi-Fi hotspot provided by gateway 111.

Gateway 111 may include, or be communicatively coupled to, a modemcomponent for encoding and decoding data transmissions. Gateway 111 mayinclude, for example, a modem for providing Internet services (e.g.,device 110, broadband modems, cable modems, wireless modems), voicecommunications equipment (e.g., embedded multimedia terminal adapter,embedded digital voice adapter, Voice-over-IP, terminal adapters), orany other suitable device or combination of devices. For example,gateway 111 may include device 110 for receiving data from andtransmitting data to local office 103 over a CATV or MSO network.

Gateway 111 may include, or be communicatively coupled to, a wirelesscommunications component for wirelessly receiving data from andwirelessly transmitting data to devices 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 and 117,as well as to other gateways and devices communicatively coupled tonetwork 100. The wireless communications component may operate usingconventional wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX. Forexample, the wireless communications component may use differentphysical layer technologies, broadcast on different channels, or providedifferent local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks(WLANs), or virtual local area networks (VLANs).

Gateway 111's wireless communications component may include, or becommunicatively coupled to, one or more antennas for transmitting andreceiving wireless communications. For example, gateway 111 may includean omnidirectional antenna for broadcasting in and receiving data fromall directions within a wireless broadcasting range (e.g., 100 meters)of the antenna. In another example, gateway 111 may include adirectional, high gain antenna for preferentially broadcasting in andreceiving data from a particular direction within a wirelessbroadcasting range (e.g., 150 meters in a particular horizontaldirection) of the antenna. In certain implementations, the wirelessbroadcasting range may vary with frequency band. For example, a wirelessnetwork broadcast in a 2.4 GHz frequency band may have a greaterwireless broadcasting range than a wireless network broadcast in a 5 GHzfrequency band.

In some embodiments, gateway 111 may include both a modem component anda wireless communications component. Such a fully-integrated device mayallow bi-directional data communication with local office 103 anddevices 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117 and any other suitable device ornetwork. In other embodiments, the modem component, the wirelesscommunications component, or both may be located in devices separate orremote from gateway 111. For example, the modem component may be locatedoutside a user's home in an optical network terminal (ONT), while thewireless communications component may be located with a wireless antennain a different location in the user's home than gateway 111. In otherembodiments, both the modem component and wireless communicationscomponent may be located outside the user's home, but still provideInternet access to the user's devices. In certain implementations, aservice provider may provide a modem component and various othercomponents, while a user may provide a wireless communicationscomponent.

Network 100 may include various communications access points forwirelessly transmitting data to and receiving data from various devices.In certain implementations, the communications access points may becommunicatively coupled to local office 103 through one or more networks109 or directly through communication links 101. For example, network100 may include communications access point 120 for allowing devices tocommunicate with local office 103, one or more external networks 109,and other devices communicatively coupled thereto. Communications accesspoint 120 may be any suitable computing device for providing a wirelesscommunications network in a wireless coverage area and communicatingwith devices, local office 103, one or more external networks 109, orany other suitable device or network. For example, communications accesspoint 120 may be a telecommunications tower, a wireless communicationstower, a broadcast communications tower, a communications satellite, acellular repeater, a wireless access point, a wireless antenna, agateway interface device (e.g., gateway 111), or any other suitabledevice or combination of devices. In another example, communicationsaccess point 120 may be included in an in-building distributed antennasystem (DAS), an outdoor DAS, a rooftop DAS, or any other suitablecommunications system.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120 may include some orall of the features discussed with reference to gateway 111. Forexample, communications access point 120 may include, or becommunicatively coupled to, an antenna, a modem component, a wirelesscommunications component, device 110, or any other suitable component orcombination of components for transmitting and receiving wirelesscommunications. In one example, communications access point 120 mayinclude an omnidirectional antenna for broadcasting in and receivingdata from all horizontal directions within a wireless communicationsrange (e.g., 2 miles). In another example, communications access point120 may include a directional, high gain antenna for preferentiallybroadcasting in and receiving data from a particular direction within awireless communications range (e.g., 5 miles in a particular horizontaldirection). In certain implementations, the wireless broadcasting rangemay vary with frequency band.

In an illustrative example, communications access point 120 may increaseits transmission power under certain conditions to extend thetransmission range. In another example, communications access point 120can increase the transmission range by changing the modulation scheme toreduce the number of phases or amplitudes used for a selected frequencyand gain an effective signal-to-noise ratio increase which may be usedto increase the reach of the signal. Communications access point 120 andthe mobile device may each change modulation as necessary. In anotherexample, communications access point 120 may increase the transmissionrange by increasing the error protection for the selected frequency togain an effective signal-to-noise ratio increase which may be used toincrease the reach of the signal. The error protection may be, forexample, the amount of redundancy added to a digital transmission andmay be used to determine how many lost bits may be recovered when thesignal is weak. Communications access point 120 and the mobile devicemay each change error protection as necessary. In some embodiments, thetechniques described herein may be combined to provide a greatertransmission range.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120, gateway 111 orboth may serve as a wireless access point for providing various wirelessnetworks to devices. In certain implementations, the wirelesscommunications networks may have different service level agreements(SLAs), which may result in different byte limits, allocated bandwidths,authentication/encryption processes, or any other suitable processes orparameters. The wireless communications networks may be public wirelessnetworks, private wireless networks, or any other suitable wirelessnetworks now known or later developed. For ease of discussion, wirelessaccess points and wireless communications networks will hereinafter bediscussed with reference to communications access point 120.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120 may provide apublic wireless network whose resources are reserved for the use of aservice provider or a lessee of communications access point 120. Forexample, a public wireless network may be implemented as a wirelesshotspot through which wireless devices may connect to the Internet. Incertain implementations, a group of connected hotspots (e.g., a wirelesscommunity network, a lily pad network) may allow devices to staycontinuously or semi-continuously connected to the Internet while movingfrom one location to another location.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120 may provide aprivate wireless network with restricted access to pre-authorizeddevices, or a wireless network whose resources are reserved for the useof the owner of a home in which the wireless network resides. Forexample, a private wireless network may be implemented as a wireless orvirtual LAN.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120 may wirelesslybroadcast network identifiers, such as service set identifiers (SSIDs),for one or more of the wireless networks it provides. For example,communications access point 120 may broadcast a public wireless networkidentifier (e.g., an SSID) to all devices within wireless broadcastingrange. In another example, communications access point 120 may notbroadcast network identifiers for one or more of the wireless networksit provides. In another example, communications access point 120 mayonly broadcast network identifiers to particular devices, such asdevices specified by local office 103 (e.g., subscribers to a cellularbroadband service, third-party subscribers). For example, communicationsaccess point 120 may communicate with devices configured to identify aparticular network identifier without actively broadcasting the networkidentifier to unknown devices.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120 may grant a requestfrom a device to connect to its wireless network in accordance with itsauthentication requirements. For example, communications access point120 may store an authentication table or a MAC address filter in localmemory and grant a device access to a wireless network after determiningthat the device is authorized to access the network (e.g., using thedevice's MAC address transmitted in a request to connect to thenetwork). In another example, communications access point 120 mayreceive authorization from local office 103 to grant a device access toa wireless network. In another example, the user of the device may inputa username and password that is compared against a secure data store ofauthorized usernames and respective passwords to determine whether thedevice is authorized to access the network. In another example, thedevice may transmit a pre-shared key that is compared against a securedata store of pre-shared keys to determine whether the device isauthorized to access the network.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120, local office 103or both may manage bandwidth allocation statically, dynamically, or bothbased on the demand of each device. For example, communications accesspoint 120 may manage quality of service (QoS) and allocate bandwidth sothat predetermined services may be provided to the device. In certainimplementations, a device may be initially allocated a fixed amount ofbandwidth based on the particular device's requirements (e.g.,applications running on the device) and additional bandwidth may bedynamically allocated to provide predetermined service levels and QoS.If numerous devices connect to communications access point 120 and it isnot possible to allocate the minimum bandwidth for a device (e.g., byreducing the communications data rate for devices that have exceeded athreshold limit), then the device may be rejected permission to connectto communications access point 120.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120 may negotiatebandwidth to ensure that the desired QoS and bandwidth are available toeach wireless network. For example, communications access point 120 maynegotiate bandwidth to ensure that the desired QoS and bandwidth areavailable to wireless networks sharing a common backhaul connection tothe Internet. In another example, communications access point 120 maynegotiate bandwidth to prevent a single device from consuming all ormost of the network's bandwidth. In certain implementations, localoffice 103 may provide rules, instructions, or both to communicationsaccess point 120 for bandwidth allocation and QoS requirements. Forexample, these rules may guide the allocation of bandwidth at a granularlevel (e.g., a session level, a device level) and indicate that someapplications may have higher priority than others (e.g., emergencyservices such as E911 may have top priority).

In some embodiments, the coverage area of wireless networks coupled tonetwork 100 may be extended to provide network coverage in areas wherecoverage was not previously available. The coverage area of the wirelessnetwork may be extended in various ways in accordance with variousembodiments of the disclosure. For example, a wireless network providedby communications access point 120 may be extended by reallocatingnetwork resources, altering the wireless coverage area in which thenetwork is provided, switching wireless services (e.g., to avoid dataroaming charges), or performing any other suitable technique to maintainthe wireless connectivity of a device. In certain implementations,communications access point 120, local office 103, or both mayautomatically extend the coverage of the wireless network as a deviceapproaches a location where the wireless network is not presentlyavailable (e.g., a dead zone). Communications access point 120, localoffice 103, or both may determine that a device is nearing a dead zoneby, for example, detecting a decrease in wireless signal strength,determining that the device is located at a location within apredetermined range (e.g., 500 meters) of the perimeter of the wirelesscoverage area provided by communications access point 120, or using anyother suitable technique.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120, local office 103or both may dynamically extend or reallocate the coverage area of awireless network based on respective location information. Locationinformation may indicate, for example, the geographic coordinates (e.g.,latitude, longitude, altitude) of the device, the address of the user ofthe device, the direction of travel of the device, the speed of travelof the device, predicted locations of the device at future points intime, location accuracy, or any other suitable information. In certainimplementations, location information may be determined by processinginformation received from or associated with the device, such as GlobalPositioning System (GPS) information, cellular tower triangulationinformation, wireless signal strength, and time of arrival of a wirelesssignal. In certain implementations, location information may includedata determined from historical location information. For example,location information may include geographic locations at which thedevice is most frequently located (e.g., a list of the most commongeographic locations over the past year), average geographic locationsat particular times of the day or year, average travel speeds and routes(e.g., to differentiate between walking and driving). In anotherexample, radio-frequency identification (RFID) information may be used.For example, a vehicle may include an RFID receiver for reading RFIDinformation associated with roadside mile markers. The RFID informationmay then be transmitted to the appropriate processor for use indetermining location information. Example location information datastructures are discussed in further detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and6 .

In some embodiments, communications access point 120, local office 103or both may predict or estimate where the client or device may belocated at some time in the future. For example, local office 103 mayanalyze changes in the geographic location of a particular device todetermine or estimate where the device will be located. Changes in thelocation of the device may be determined by changes in the geographiclocation of the device at different points in time. For example, localoffice 103 may predict where the device will be located at some time inthe future based on the device's present geographic location and thedevice's rate and vector of travel. In another example, local office 103may process the location information associated with a device todetermine that the device is primarily located a first set of geographiccoordinates, but frequently travels to a second set of geographiccoordinates at a particular speed using a particular route. Local office103 may determine that the device will be located at the second set ofgeographic coordinates based on changes in the geographic location ofthe device that indicate that the device is traveling towards the secondset of coordinates or traveling along the particular route.

In one illustrative, non-limiting example, a vehicle may relay currentfuel consumption information (e.g., the vehicle is consuming 21 milesper gallon of fuel) and the current amount of fuel remaining (e.g., 12gallons of fuel remaining in the vehicle's fuel container). Local office103 may use the current fuel consumption information and current amountof fuel remaining to determine the distance remaining until thevehicle's fuel container will be empty or near empty and the distance tothe nearest fuel station. Local office 103 may also access the user'spreferred fuel station based on any suitable user preferenceinformation, such as owning a fuel company's credit card. With thecombination of this information, local office 103 may determine wherethe user may go to refuel and provide the wireless network at thatlocation. Local office 103 may also use similar techniques with respectto meal information (e.g., it is near lunch time, the user prefers aparticular restaurant, the particular restaurant is located at locationX, provide the wireless network at location X).

In some embodiments, communications access point 120, local office 103,or both predict or estimate where a device will be located at some timein the future based on advance knowledge of a geographic route of travelassociated with a user of the device. A user's geographic route may beidentified or determined based on travel information associated with auser of a device, such as social media information, calendarinformation, electronic communication information, and user preferenceinformation.

Social media information may be, for example, a post, communication, orstatus update associated with the user's various social media accounts(e.g., Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, Google, etc.). For example, localoffice 103 may search information included in a user's social mediaaccounts to identify information indicating that the user will betraveling to a particular location at a particular date and time (e.g.,a Washington, D.C.-based user post that states “Philadelphia todayaround 7 pm”).

Calendar information may be, for example, a user's or organization'sevents and schedules maintained by a local calendar (e.g., on the user'sdevice) or a remotely stored calendar (e.g., an online calendar). Forexample, local office 103 may search information included in anelectronic calendar to identify an event indicating that the user willbe traveling to a particular location at a particular date and time(e.g., an event scheduled at a conference center, a scheduled jobinterview in New York City, user changes to the calendar's city, region,and/or time zone).

Electronic communication information may be, for example, an email, atranscription of a phone call or video chat (e.g., using aspeech-to-text program). For example, local office 103 may searchinformation included in an electronic communication (e.g., e-mailmessage, travel itinerary, hotel reservation, etc.) to identifyinformation indicating that the user will be traveling to a particularlocation at a particular date and time (e.g., an email or IP phone callin which the user states “I will be driving to Kentucky tomorrow”).

User preference information may be, for example, information associatedwith the user's wireless communications account, such as the user'saddress, city, region, time zone, zip code, devices (e.g., a list of MACaddresses, cell phone numbers, etc.), associated users (e.g., familymembers, friends), viewing preferences, and any other suitableinformation. For example, the local office may identify a change in auser's preferences to identify information indicating that the user willbe traveling to a particular location at a particular date and time(e.g., a change to a different city in a weather application, a changeto the user's address, a change to the zip code for which the userreceives local news, etc.).

In some embodiments, the user of the device may provide his or her routeof travel to the service provider (e.g., via local office 103) inadvance of or during travel to maintain wireless connectivity along theroute. For example, the user may communicate his or her travel plans tothe service provider using email, phone call, text message, instantmessage, live chat, or any other suitable technique. In another example,local office 103 may have access to destinations included in userpreference information such as a user's preferred hotels, fuel stations,restaurants, hobbies, clothing stores, or any other suitableinformation. If it is determined that the user or the user's device islocated within a particular distance of such a destination, local office103 may provide or prepare to provide the wireless network at thatdestination so that the wireless network is available should the usertravel to that destination.

In an illustrative example, a user may be driving from Virginia toKentucky. The user's route may pass through the mountains of WestVirginia where dead zones (e.g., areas with no wireless networkavailability or coverage) may exist. Local office 103 may receive,store, or determine the user's travel plans or schedules by receivingtravel information directly from the user or by analyzing the device'slocation information, the user's social media information, calendarinformation, electronic communication information, or user preferenceinformation, or any other suitable information or combination ofinformation. Based on prior knowledge of the user's travel plans orschedules, local office 103 may know that the user will encounter a lossor reduction in signal strength due to a dead zone around Shady Spring,W. Va. As the user approaches Shady Spring, local office 103 mayinstruct communications access point 120 to extend its wireless coveragearea to provide the wireless network to the user's device, therebyreducing the possibility of a loss of service.

In some embodiments, a communications access point (e.g., access point120), local office 103, or both may extend the coverage area of thewireless network by dynamically changing the power, direction, or bothof the wireless network provided by communications access point 120(e.g., by changing the direction, gain, or any other suitable parameterof communications access point 120's wireless antenna). For example, asthe user approaches the edge of a wireless coverage area, communicationsaccess tower 120 may detect a change in signal strength and begin toincrease its transmission power, which may extend the network's wirelesscoverage area. In another example, communications access point 120 maydetermine that the user's device is moving and has reached a locationwithin a predetermined range (e.g., 500 meters) of the perimeter of itswireless coverage area and change the gain, direction, or both of itswireless antennas to extend the coverage area of wireless network in theuser's direction of travel. As the user enters into the wirelesscoverage of another communications access point, communications accesspoint 120 may transmit an instruction to the user's device to transferto the wireless network provided by the other communications accesspoint and communications access point 120 may begin to power down orotherwise restore the wireless network to its previous wireless coveragearea. The predetermined range may be based on, for example, theparticular technology used (e.g., a 4G wireless network may have alonger range than a Wi-Fi wireless network). Communications access point120 may also dynamically adjust the range based on the varioustechnologies to which the user may be transitioning. For example, if theuser is on a 4G wireless network and is going to travel to another 4Gwireless network, the current 4G wireless network may extend thetransition range to the particular value at which the user's device maybe picked up by the other 4G wireless network. In another example, ifthe transition is from a 4G wireless network to a Wi-Fi wirelessnetwork, the current 4G wireless network may extend the transition rangeto a greater value to ensure that user's device makes the transition tothe Wi-Fi wireless network. In certain implementations, the range mayalso be based on the user's relationship with the provider of thewireless network.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120, local office 103or both may extend the coverage area of the wireless network byconcentrating the wireless network in a particular wireless coveragearea. For example, local office 103 may cause a communications accesspoint or a group of communications access points to concentrate theirwireless coverage areas in a particular direction or geographic areabased on location density information for a population of devices orusers (e.g., wireless subscribers). Location density information mayinclude, for example, the respective geographic locations of users suchas client devices connected to the wireless network or located in thenetwork coverage area, location information for users such as clientdevices with access to the wireless network, geographic areas with thehighest number of users, geographic areas with the highest bandwidthconsumption, geographic areas with the lowest number of users,geographic areas with the lowest bandwidth consumption, the geographiclocations and wireless coverage areas of other communications accesspoints, and any other suitable information. In an illustrative example,if a wireless network is provided by a plurality of access points, suchas cellular communications towers, located around the periphery ofPhiladelphia, Pa., local office 103 may redirect the power of the towerstowards Philadelphia because it has a higher population density ofdevices. In another illustrative example, the population density of astadium, arena, or concert hall may be very high when an event is goingon and very low when an event is not going on. When an event is goingon, local office 103 may redirect the power of nearby communicationstowers to form a concentrated network coverage area at the stadium,arena, or concert hall. Example data structures for use in determininglocation density information are discussed in further detail withreference to FIGS. 5 and 6 .

Extending the coverage area of the wireless network based on locationdensity information may provide a more robust use of energy in caseswhere the wireless network is needed in a particular region and mayreduce the necessity to add more communications towers as well as reducethe energy inefficiencies caused by spherically extending wirelesscoverage areas. Location densities may be modeled automatically based onthe number of devices communicating on the network at a particular timeand wireless coverage may be extended to an area with increased trafficas needed (e.g., when network traffic exceeds a predeterminedthreshold). For example, local office 103 may redirect network resourcesbased on the needs and measured migration patterns of devices ingeneral. In another example, additional coverage may be provided toairports during peak travel times. In another example, systems that usemultiple antenna arrays may determine that the majority of the callsoriginate from particular coordinates such as polar coordinates (200,20′) through (265, 183′). In this case, local office 103 may reduce thepower provided to the antennas located outside these coordinates andincrease the power provided to the antennas located within thesecoordinates. Similarly, triangulation information, GPS coordinates, orboth may also be used.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120, local office 103or both may extend the coverage area of the wireless network bytransferring services to another wireless network. For example,communications access point 120, local office 103, or both may transfervoice and data signals transmitted over one transport media (e.g., acellular network) to another transport media (e.g., a satellite network,Wi-Fi, WiMAX). In certain implementations, communications access point120 may transmit an instruction (e.g., based on data received from localoffice 103) to a device connected to its wireless network to transfer toa wireless network provided by another communications access point orgateway interface device. The transfer may be over different physicalnetworks, such as MSO networks, pay TV networks, cellular networks,femtocell networks, Wi-Fi networks, WiMAX networks, satellite networks,or any other suitable networks. In certain implementations, theinstruction may be transmitted across any or all networks to which thedevice is currently connected. For example, the device may be instructedto transfer from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network. In anotherexample, the device may be instructed to transfer from a wirelessnetwork provided over a CATV network to a wireless network provided overa cellular network. In another example, local office 103 may instructthe device to connect to a wireless network identified by an SSIDbroadcast from customer premise equipment located in a dead zone wherethe is or will be located. In certain implementations, communicationsaccess point 120, local office 103 or both may support seamlesstransition of the device between different wireless networks by, forexample, providing session data to the new network connection.

In certain implementations, the transition may be based on protocolsdependent on battery strength. For example, the device may transmit dataindicative of its battery level to local office 103. Local office 103may then use the battery level information to select a particularwireless network when multiple wireless networks are available. In anexample, a user device may be located in an area that has both Wi-Fi andWiMAX networks, and the user device's battery may be in a state wheretransmitting to WiMAX will consume more power than Wi-Fi. Even thoughthe user device may get more bandwidth on the WiMAX network, the userdevice may use the Wi-Fi network because the cost of battery consumptionon the WiMAX network may be too high.

In some embodiments, communications access point 120, local office 103or both may establish a communications link with the wireless network towhich service is to be transferred before the service is transferred. Incertain implementations, a handshake or other switching protocol may beperformed with the new wireless network. As a result, both the deviceand local office 103 are aware of multiple available communicationspaths. For example, a device may receive instructions from local office103 to initiate a handshake with a new wireless network identified andselected by local office 103. In certain implementations, a device suchas a client device may be connected to a first wireless network providedby a first communications access point, which may overlap with thewireless coverage area of a second wireless network provided by a secondcommunications access point. A handshake may be performed between thetwo wireless networks before it is needed (e.g., without the user of thedevice's knowledge). Subsequently, when the device has been instructedto transfer service from the first wireless network to the secondwireless network, the transfer to the second wireless network may occurautomatically when the device travels out of the first wireless network.

In some embodiments, multiple wireless networks may be available to adevice at any given geographic location along a user's route. In suchembodiments, communications access point 120, local office 103 or bothmay extend the coverage area of the wireless network by selecting thebest wireless network for the device's use and instructing the device totransfer to the selected wireless network. For example, local office 103may determine that multiple SSIDs are being broadcast in a dead zonealong a user's geographic route. Local office 103 may analyze thewireless networks respectively associated with the SSIDs and select oneof the wireless networks based on, for example, security requirements,available bandwidth, bandwidth capability (e.g., for maintainingtransmission of an HD movie along the device's route), data rate,wireless signal strength, the device's route or direction or travel, thecost associated with using the network, the wireless coverage area ofthe network (e.g., larger coverage areas may increase the possibility ofmaintaining coverage for a longer duration), or any other suitablefactor or consideration. In one example, local office 103 may transmitan instruction to the device as an ordered table of priorities for allof the available networks and the device may attempt connections in thatorder. In another example, the user device may be located in an areawhere Wi-Fi is available from two or more providers. Local office 103may have an agreement with one of the providers that allows the user touse that provider's service for free or at a reduced rate. As a result,the device may be instructed to select that provider's Wi-Fi network.

In some embodiments, local office 103 may cause communications accesspoint 120 to transmit an instruction to the device to transfer to theselected wireless network as the device nears the dead zone (e.g., asdetermined by reaching a location within a predetermined range of theperimeter of the wireless coverage area for the wireless network towhich it is connected). In another example, local office 103 may causecommunications access point 120 to transmit an instruction to the deviceto search for a new wireless network and automatically request toconnect to the new wireless network once a compatible network isidentified or a preferred network is selected. In certainimplementations, the device, communications access point 120, or bothmay transmit active session data to the new wireless network for sessionhandoff.

In some embodiments, the coverage area of the wireless network may beextended by moving cached data from one server to another server along auser's travel route. For example, communications access point 120 maytransmit media content to a device from content server 106, which may bea cache server in a content delivery network. In advance of a devicetransferring service to a new wireless network, for example, localoffice 103 may determine if another cache server in the content deliverynetwork has a shorter communications path (e.g., shorter physicaldistance, higher available bandwidth, greater transmission speed, fewerintermediate nodes or servers) to the communications access point whichprovides the new wireless network. If so, local office 103 mayautomatically move the cached media content to the other cache serverhaving the shorter communications path. By moving cached media contentto different locations along a user's route, the user's device mayreceive cached data at a higher data transmission rate at any location(e.g., as in a cloud computing environment).

While the above examples are illustrated using communications accesspoint 120, similar concepts may be applicable to other components ofnetwork 100. For example, gateway 111 may dynamically increase power ina particular direction as a user's wireless device 116 moves from alocation inside the user's home 102 a to a location outside the user'shome 102 a, such as a location in the user's backyard. Varioustechniques for extending or reallocating the wireless coverage area of awireless network will be discussed in further detail with reference toFIGS. 3 and 4 .

FIG. 2 illustrates general hardware and software elements of a computingdevice that may be used to partially or wholly implement any of thevarious devices and components described herein. Device 200 may includeone or more processors 201, which may execute instructions of a computerprogram to perform any of the features described herein. Theinstructions may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium ormemory to configure the operation of the processor 201. For example,instructions may be stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 202, randomaccess memory (RAM) 203, removable media 204, such as a Universal SerialBus (USB) drive, compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD), harddrive, floppy disk drive, or any other desired electronic storagemedium. Instructions may also be stored in hard drive 205, which may bean internal or external hard drive.

In some embodiments, device 200 may include one or more output devices,such as a display 206 (e.g., an external monitor or television) and mayinclude one or more output device controllers 207, such as a videoprocessor. In some embodiments, device 200 may include one or more userinput devices 208, such as a remote control, keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, microphone, or any other suitable input device.

In some embodiments, device 200 may include one or more networkinterfaces, such as input/output (I/O) interface 209 (e.g., a networkcard), for communicating with external network 210. Interface 209 may bea wired interface, a wireless interface, or both. In certainimplementations, interface 209 may include a modem (e.g., a cablemodem), and network 210 may include communication links 101 shown inFIG. 1 , one or more external networks 109, an in-home network, aprovider's wireless, coaxial, fiber, or hybrid fiber/coaxialdistribution system (e.g., a DOCSIS network), or any other desirednetwork.

In some embodiments, device 200 may include one or more geographicpositioning or location determination devices, such as positioningequipment 211. Positioning equipment 211 may include any suitablehardware (e.g., a processor) and memory for determining the present orpredicted geographic location of device 200 or another device. Incertain implementations, positioning equipment 211 may be used todetermine location information for a particular device, location densityinformation for a group of devices, or both.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example network environment 300 whose wirelesscoverage area may be extended to provide wireless coverage in areaswhere wireless coverage was limited or not previously available.Environment 300 is only one example of a suitable network environmentand is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of the disclosure. The illustrated network environmentshould not be interpreted as having any dependency or requirementrelating to any one or combination of components in a wireless networkenvironment.

Example network environment 300 includes a device 301 communicativelycoupled to a wireless network. In some embodiments, device 301 mayinclude any suitable combination of features described with reference todevices 116 and 117 shown in FIG. 1 , device 200 shown in FIG. 2 , orany other suitable component. For example, device 301 may be a tabletcomputer, a cellular phone, an automotive multimedia system, or anyother suitable computing device. device 301 may be located at variousgeographic locations at various points in time. For example, device 301may be located at a first location (e.g., location 302 a) at a firstpoint in time. Subsequently, device 301 may be travelling to a secondlocation (e.g., location 302 b) at a later point in time. In certainimplementations, the second location may be a location along the routeof travel (e.g., route 303) of device 301. Route 303 may be any suitablegeographic route, thoroughfare, or way for traveling from one geographiclocation to another geographic location. For example, route 303 may be acombination of different roads and highways, or a route taken by acommercial transportation vehicle such as an airplane, train or bus. Incertain implementations, the second location may be a location along thedirection of travel (e.g., vector 304) of device 301. Vector 304 may beany suitable geographic vector or combination of vectors and may bedetermined by, for example, processing the present and historicalgeographic locations of device 301, location information associated withdevice 301, or any other suitable information. In certainimplementations, location 302 b, route 303, or vector 304 may includeapproximate (e.g., predicted, estimated) geographic locations and may bedifferent from the actual geographic location of device 301 at anyparticular point in time.

In some embodiments, communications access point 310 may provide awireless network within a wireless broadcasting range indicated bywireless coverage area 312 a. Communications access point 310 mayinclude any suitable combination of features described with reference tocommunications access point 120 shown in FIG. 1 , device 200 shown inFIG. 2 , or any other suitable component. For example, communicationsaccess point 310 may be a Wi-Fi hotspot or a cellular communicationstower operated by local office 350 via an indirect communications paththrough network 309. Local office 350 may include any suitablecombination of features described with reference to local office 103shown in FIG. 1 , device 200 shown in FIG. 2 , or any other suitablecomponent. Network 309 may include any suitable combination of featuresdescribed with reference to network 109 shown in FIG. 1 . The componentsshown in FIG. 3 may communicate through direct communications links ormay communicate via indirect communications paths through network 309.Detailed communications paths and links are not shown in FIG. 3 to avoidovercomplicating the figure.

In some embodiments, communications access point 310, local office 350,or both may monitor device 301 to determine whether device 301 is movingtowards or away from areas where wireless coverage is not available(e.g., “dead zone” 320). For example, device 301 at location 302 a maybe communicatively coupled to the wireless network provided in wirelesscoverage area 312 a. Communications access point 310, local office 350,or both may determine that device 301 is traveling towards “dead zone”320 and will arrive at location 302 b at some time in the future. Forexample, communications access point 310, local office 350, or both maypredict that device 301 will be located at location 302 b based onadvance knowledge of route 303, vector 304, location informationassociated with device 301, or any other suitable information orcombination of information.

In some embodiments, communications access point 310, local office 350or both may predict the future locations of device 301 and extendnetwork coverage to the predicted location. For example, communicationsaccess point 310, local office 350, or both may predict that device 301is moving from location 302 a to a location in “dead zone” 320, such aslocation 302 b, at some point in the future based on route 303, vector304, location information associated with device 301, or any othersuitable information. Based on the prediction, communications accesspoint 310 may extend the wireless coverage area of the wireless networkto form wireless coverage area 312 b to cover the area through which theuser is predicted to travel. Wireless coverage area 312 b may be formedby, for example, changing the direction, gain, or any other suitableparameter of a wireless antenna of communication access point 310. As aresult, device 301 at location 302 b may be communicatively coupled to awireless network provided in wireless coverage area 312 b bycommunications access point 310. In another example, as device 301approaches the perimeter of wireless coverage area 312 a, communicationsaccess point 310 may detect a change in signal strength and begin toincrease its transmission power, which may extend the network's wirelesscoverage area into “dead zone” 320. In another example, communicationsaccess point 310 may determine that device 301 is moving and has reacheda location within a predetermined range of the perimeter of wirelesscoverage area 312 a (e.g., a location in area 314 a). As a result,communications access point 310 may extend its wireless coverage area toform wireless coverage area 312 b.

In certain implementations, communications access point 310, localoffice 350 or both may extend the coverage area of the wireless networkby using existing services that are within communications range ofcommunications access point 310 or directly coupled to communicationsaccess point 310. For example, if an MSO that operates communicationsaccess point 310 does not have a communications access point in “deadzone” 320, device 301 may access another MSO's communications accesspoint. In certain implementations, wireless transmissions of device 301may be transported from a cellular network to Wi-Fi, WiMAX, satellite,or any other suitable network or combination depending on networkavailability and other suitable factors. For example, when device 301 islocated in a dead zone where no cellular network is available, it maytransfer to a WiMAX, satellite, or even Wi-Fi network to maintaincoverage. Once device 301 is no longer located in the dead zone andcellular coverage is available, the communication access point 310restores its wireless network to wireless coverage area 312 a.

In some embodiments, communications access point 310, local office 350or both may extend the coverage area of the wireless network bytransferring services to another wireless network, such as a wirelessnetwork provided by communications access point 340. Communicationsaccess point 340 may include any suitable combination of featuresdescribed with reference to communications access point 310 and mayprovide a wireless network within a wireless broadcasting rangeindicated by wireless coverage area 322. As device 301 approaches theend of “dead zone” 320 and enters into wireless coverage area 322provided by communications access point 340 (or the extended rangecapabilities of communications access point 340), communications accesspoint 310 may transmit an instruction to device 301 to transfer serviceto the wireless network provided by communications access point 340. Asa result, device 301 at location 302 c may be communicatively coupled tothe wireless network provided in wireless coverage area 322 bycommunications access point 340. Subsequently, communications accesspoint 310 may begin to power down or otherwise restore its wirelessnetwork to wireless coverage area 312 a. In certain implementations,device 301, communications access point 310, or local office 350 maytransmit active session data to the new wireless network for sessionhandoff.

In certain implementations, communications access point 310, localoffice 350 or both may predict the future location of device 301, searchfor a second wireless network at the predicted location, and perform ahandshake with the second wireless network before the device arrives atthe predicted location. For example, communications access point 310,local office 350 or both may predict that device 301 will likely belocated at location 302 c (which is outside the extended rangecapabilities of communications access point 310) at some point in thefuture, search for wireless networks available at location 302 c,identify a wireless network provided by communications access point 340,and perform a handshake with the wireless network provided bycommunications access point 340 before device 301 arrives at location302 c. Communications access point 310, local office 350 or both maytransmit an instruction to device 301 to transfer to the identifiedwireless network information while it is still connected to the wirelessnetwork provided by communications access point 310. Subsequently,device 301 may search for the wireless network in the instruction andpreemptively establish a connection with the identified network. Onceconnected, device 301, local office 350 or both may initiate thehandshake with the new wireless network. As a result, when device 301reaches location 302 c, it may automatically transfer to the wirelessnetwork provided by communications access point 340.

In certain implementations, if device 301 has been disconnected from onewireless network but is within the extended range capabilities ofanother wireless network, the communications access point providing theother wireless network may dynamically extend its wireless coverage areaso that the device may be permitted to connect to the other wirelessnetwork. For example, if device 301 at location 302 b is disconnectedfrom the wireless network provided by communications access point 310but is within the extended range capabilities of communications accesspoint 340, communications access point 340 may dynamically extend itswireless coverage area so that device 301 may connect to its wirelessnetwork.

In some embodiments, multiple wireless networks may be available todevice 301 at any given geographic location along route 303. In suchembodiments, the coverage area of the wireless network may be extendedby selecting the best wireless network for use of device 301 andinstructing device 301 to transfer to the selected wireless network. Forexample, device 301 at location 302 c may be within wireless coveragearea 322 provided by communications access point 340 and wirelesscoverage area 332 provided by gateway 330. Gateway 330 may include anysuitable combination of features described with reference to gateway111, communications access point 120, and local office 103 shown in FIG.1 , and device 200 shown in FIG. 2 . For example, gateway 330 may be agateway interface device that provides a residential wireless accesspoint, a Wi-Fi hotspot, or any other suitable service. In certainimplementations, local office 350 may analyze the wireless networksrespectively provided by communications access point 340 and gateway 330and select one of the wireless networks based on, for example, securityrequirements, available bandwidth, ability of device 301 to access thewireless networks, or any other suitable technique. For example, thewireless network provided by communications access point 340 may beselected because it has greater network coverage at predicted futurelocations along route 303. In another example, the wireless networkprovided by gateway 330 may be selected because the MAC address ofdevice 301 is included in a MAC address filter implemented by gateway330. In certain implementations, local office 350 may causecommunications access point 310 (or communications access point 340) totransmit an instruction to device 301 to transfer to the selectedwireless network.

In some embodiments, the coverage area of the wireless network may beextended by moving or copying cached data from one server to anotherserver along a user's travel route. In an illustrative example,communications access point 310 may transmit media content to device 301from content server 362. Content server 362 may include any suitablecombination of features described with reference to content server 106shown in FIG. 1 and device 200 shown in FIG. 2 . For example, contentserver 362 may be a cache server in a content delivery network. Inadvance of a device transferring service to the wireless networkprovided by communications access point 340, local office 350 maydetermine that content server 364 (e.g., another cache server in thecontent delivery network which may include any suitable combination offeatures described with reference to content server 362) has a shortercommunications path (e.g., shorter physical distance, higher availablebandwidth, greater transmission speed, fewer intermediate nodes) tocommunications access point 340 than content server 362. In advance ofdevice 301 transferring service to communications access point 340, thecontent may be automatically moved or copied from content server 362 tocontent server 364. In another example, if it is determined that device301 will transfer to gateway 330, the content may be automatically movedor copied to a storage device in communication with gateway 330 (e.g.,local memory associated with gateway 330, a DVR or set-top box coupledto gateway 330) in advance of the transfer.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example network environment 400 in which thecoverage area of a wireless network may be extended to concentratewireless coverage in particular areas. Environment 400 is only oneexample of a suitable network environment and is not intended to suggestany limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of thedisclosure. The illustrated network environment should not beinterpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any oneor combination of components in a wireless network environment.

Example network environment 400 may include any suitable number ofcommunications access points or interface devices for providing awireless network. For example, network environment 400 may includecommunications access point 410 that provides a wireless network inwireless coverage 412 a, communications access point 420 that provides awireless network in wireless coverage 422 a, communications access point430 that provides a wireless network in wireless coverage 432 a.Communications access points 410, 420, and 430 may provide the wirelessnetwork in their respective wireless coverage areas. Communicationsaccess points 410, 420, and 430 may include any suitable combination offeatures described with reference to communications access point 120shown in FIG. 1 , device 200 shown in FIG. 2 , communications accesspoints 310 and 340 and gateway 330 shown in FIG. 3 , or any othersuitable component. For example, communications access points 410, 420,and 430 may be cellular communications towers operated by local office450 via indirect communications paths through network 409. Local office450 may include any suitable combination of features described withreference to local office 103 shown in FIG. 1 , device 200 shown in FIG.2 , local office 350 shown in FIG. 3 , or any other suitable component.Network 409 may include any suitable combination of features describedwith reference to one or more networks 109 shown in FIG. 1 . In certainimplementations, the components shown in FIG. 4 may communicate throughdirect communications links or may communicate via indirectcommunications paths through network 409. Detailed communications pathsand links are not shown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the figure.

In some embodiments, local office 450 may cause a communications accesspoint or a group of communications access points to concentrate theirwireless coverage areas in a particular direction or geographic areabased on location density information for a population of devices in thenetwork coverage area. For example, local office 450 may causecommunications access points 410, 420, and 430 to concentrate theirwireless coverage areas in a particular wireless coverage area, such asoverlapping wireless coverage area 440. Overlapping wireless coveragearea 440 may be formed, for example, by extending wireless coverageareas 412 a, 422 a, and 432 a to form wireless coverage areas 412 b, 422b, and 432 b, respectively. In certain implementations, local office 450may reallocate network resources to form overlapping wireless coveragearea 440 based on the needs and migration patterns of devices and toaccommodate dynamic changes in population or customer density in ageographic area. Overlapping wireless coverage area 440 may provide awireless coverage area capable of accommodating various scenarios, suchas an increase in bandwidth consumption or wirelessly-connected devicesduring a conference or other event, a decrease in bandwidth consumptionin a particular region due to technological advances or mass migration,an increase or decrease in local network traffic during a particulartime of year (e.g., summer or winter travel destinations), or any othersuitable scenario.

FIG. 5 illustrates example information 500 that includes locationinformation for devices, users, or both having access to variouswireless networks. In some embodiments, information 500 may be, or maybe used to determine, location density information for a population ofdevices or users. Information 500 may be a data structure stored in anysuitable storage device, such as a memory of device 200 shown in FIG. 2, a database maintained by local office 103 shown in FIG. 1 , a memoryof communications access point 120, a memory of gateway 111, or in anyother suitable storage device or combination of storage devices (e.g.,in a cloud computing environment). In some embodiments, information 500may be included in a user interface implemented by device 200 shown inFIG. 2 . For example, information 500 may be viewed using display 206shown in FIG. 2 and manipulated using input device 208 to add, remove,or edit information. In certain implementations, information 500 may beautomatically manipulated by local office 103 shown in FIG. 1 withoutrequiring user input.

Information 500 may include location information for a plurality ofdevices. Location information for respective devices may be included inlocation information rows 511-513, 521-523, 531-533, or in any othersuitable field, grouping, data structure, or combination thereof. Eachlocation information row may be associated with a respectivecommunications access point identification (ID) field 501,communications access point location field 502, device identification(ID) field 503, device location field 504, signal strength field 505,and bandwidth consumption field 506. In an illustrative example,location information rows 511, 512, and 513 may refer to devices havingaccess to a wireless network provided in wireless coverage area 412 a bycommunications access point 410 shown in FIG. 4 . Location informationrows 521, 522, and 523 may refer to devices having access to a wirelessnetwork provided in wireless coverage area 422 a by communicationsaccess point 420 shown in FIG. 4 . Location information rows 531, 532,and 533 may refer to devices having access to a wireless networkprovided in wireless coverage area 432 a by communications access point430 shown in FIG. 4 .

Communications access point identification field 501 may include, forexample, address information (e.g., a unique identifier, a hardwareaddress, a cell ID, a MAC address, an IP address, an access point name)for a communications access point or an intermediate device thatrespectively handles the communications access point's communications.Communications access point location field 502 may include thegeographic location (e.g., latitude, longitude) of the communicationsaccess point identified in field 501. Device identification field 503may include, for example, address information (e.g., a uniqueidentifier, a hardware address, a MAC address, an IP address, a username, a device name) for a device or an intermediate device thatrespectively handles the device's communications. Device location field504 may include the geographic location (e.g., latitude, longitude) ofthe device identified in field 503.

In some embodiments, information 500 may include connection informationfor the communications access point identified in field 501, the deviceidentified in field 503, or both. Connection information may include,for example, time of connection information (e.g., the date and timethat the device identified in field 503 connected to the communicationsaccess point identified in field 501), connection duration, connectionspeed, signal quality, amount of data transmitted to a connected device,amount of data received from the connected device, averages based onhistorical connection information, or any other suitable information.For example, information 500 may include signal strength field 505 andbandwidth consumption field 506. Signal strength field 505 may include,for example, a Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI),signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR), signal strength (e.g., in decibels), or anyother suitable information indicative of the signal strength of thewireless connection between the device identified in field 503 and thecommunications access point identified in field 501. Bandwidthconsumption field 506 may include, for example, a current, historical,or average bit rate of data transmissions between the device identifiedin field 503 and the communications access point identified in field501. In certain implementations, bandwidth consumption field 506 mayrepresent the bandwidth consumption as a percentage of the peak bitrate, channel capacity, or maximum throughput of the communications pathbetween the device identified in field 503 and the communications accesspoint identified in field 501.

In some embodiments, information 500 may include information for devicesthat are not connected to a wireless network. For example, the deviceidentified in field 503 of location information row 532 may not beconnected to a wireless network but may be associated with a user of awireless service provided by local office 103 shown in FIG. 1 . As aresult, field 504 of location information row 532 may include thegeographic location of the user's address and fields 501 and 502 mayinclude information indicative of the nearest communications accesspoint or the best communications access point for the device's use(e.g., as determined by local office 103 shown in FIG. 1 ).

In some embodiments, information 500 may be dynamically updated toindicate the current or predicted location information for one or moredevices. For example, location information for devices may be added toinformation 500 by local office 103 shown in FIG. 1 when, for example, adevice connects to a wireless network. In another example, local office103 may update device location field 504 when, for example, a devicemoves to a different geographic location. In another example, locationinformation may be removed from information 500 for a device that hasdisconnected from a wireless network or has not connected to a wirelessnetwork after a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 4 hours). In anotherexample, the local office may update information 500 when, for example,a prediction or estimation is made that the device may be located at adifferent location at some future point in time. For example,information 500 may be updated at a predetermined frequency (e.g., every30 days) based on historical usage data. In another example, information500 may be updated in real-time or near real-time (e.g., every twoseconds). In one example, information may be updated manually by a userusing any suitable user interface. In another example, information maybe updated based on user preference information, such as the userbelonging to a subscription service that updates information based onvarious user preferences according to, for example, the user'sgeographic location and information provided by other users in the area.Updating information 500 with predicted or estimated locationinformation is discussed further with reference to FIG. 6 .

In some embodiments, information 500 may include more or less datafields than those illustrated. For example, information 500 may includelocation information that indicates a direction of travel of the device,a speed of travel of the device, predicted locations of the device,location accuracy, geographic locations or areas with the highest numberof devices, geographic locations or areas with the highest bandwidthconsumption, geographic locations or areas with the lowest number ofdevices, geographic locations or areas with the lowest bandwidthconsumption, geographic locations and wireless coverage areas of othercommunications access points or any other suitable information orcombination of information.

In some embodiments, information 500 may be represented visually in oneor more maps, graphs, charts, or in any other suitable form. Forexample, information 500 may be used to generate a two-dimensional mapshowing the locations and bandwidth consumptions of various devices, thelocations and wireless coverage areas of various communications accesspoints, and “dead zones” where a wireless network is not available. Thevisual representation may be used as location density information by alocal office, a user, or both to reallocate network resources (e.g., toalter one or more wireless coverage areas). The aforementionedadditional information and visual representations are not shown in FIG.5 to avoid overcomplicating the figure.

FIG. 6 illustrates example predicted location information 600 for apopulation of devices, users, or both. Information 600 may be a datastructure stored in a storage device, such as a memory of device 200shown in FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, information 600 may include anysuitable combination of features described with reference to information500 shown in FIG. 5 . For example, information 600 may include predictedor estimated location information for devices identified in field 503shown in FIG. 5 .

Information 600 may include predicted location information in respectivepredicted location information rows 611-613, 621-623, 631-633, or in anyother suitable field, grouping, data structure, or combination thereof.Each location information row may be associated with a respective deviceidentification field 603, predicted location field 604, predicted timeof arrival field 607 (e.g., an estimated time that the device indicatedin field 603 may arrive at the predicted location indicated in field604), predicted signal strength field 605, and predicted bandwidthconsumption field 606. In an illustrative example, the devicesrespectively identified in field 603 of location information rows 611,612, 622, 623, 631, and 633 may be traveling to a predicted locationindicated in field 604, such as a conference center located in area 440shown in FIG. 4 . As a result, local office 450 may extend the wirelesscoverage areas of communications access points 410, 420, and 430 to formoverlapping coverage area 440 at a time corresponding to the earliest ofthe predicted times of arrival indicated in field 607 or an average ofthe predicted times of arrival indicated in field 607 weighted by therespective predicted bandwidth consumptions in field 606. In anotherillustrative example, location information row 613 may refer to a devicethat is traveling to a different location, such as a location northwestof the location indicated in field 504 of row 513 shown in FIG. 5 . Inanother illustrative example, location information rows 621 and 632 mayrefer to devices that may not be moving to locations different fromtheir respective locations indicated in field 504 of rows 521 and 532shown in FIG. 5 .

Device identification field 603 may include, for example, addressinformation (e.g., a unique identifier, a hardware address, a MACaddress, an IP address, a user name, a device name) for a device or anintermediate device that respectively handles the device'scommunications. For example, field 603 may include address informationfor devices identified in field 503 shown in FIG. 5 . Predicted devicelocation field 604 may include the predicted or estimated geographiclocation (e.g., latitude, longitude) of the device identified in field603. Predicted time of arrival field 607 may include the predicted orestimate time that the device identified in field 603 may arrive at thepredicted location indicated in field 604. Fields 604 and 607 may bebased on any suitable information, such as changes in the device'sgeographic location, the device's direction and speed of travel, inputreceived from a user of the device, advance knowledge of the user'sroute, social media information, calendar information, electroniccommunication information, user preference information, or any othersuitable information.

In some embodiments, information 600 may include predicted or estimatedconnection information for the devices identified in field 603. Forexample, information 600 may include predicted signal strength field 605and predicted bandwidth consumption field 606. Predicted signal strengthfield 605 may include, for example, a predicted RSSI, a predicted SNR, apredicted signal strength (e.g., in decibels), or any other suitableinformation indicative of the predicted signal strength of a wirelessconnection between the device identified in field 603 and acommunications access point available at the predicted location and timeindicated in fields 604 and 607, respectively. Predicted bandwidthconsumption field 606 may include, for example, the predicted bandwidthconsumption of the device identified in field 603 at the predictedlocation and time indicated in fields 604 and 607, respectively. Thepredicted bandwidth consumption may be based on, for example, thecurrent bandwidth consumption of the device, the device's historicalbandwidth consumption, an average of the device's historical bandwidthconsumption information (e.g., over the past 30 days), input receivedfrom a user of the device, or any other suitable information. In certainimplementations, predicted bandwidth consumption field 606 may representthe predicted bandwidth consumption as a percentage of the peak bitrate, channel capacity, or maximum throughput of the communications pathbetween the device identified in field 603 and a communications accesspoint available to the device at the location and time indicated infields 604 and 607, respectively.

In some embodiments, information 600 may include more or less datafields than those illustrated. For example, information 600 may includepredicted location information that indicates a predicted direction oftravel of the device, a predicted speed of travel of the device, furtherpredicted locations of the device at future points in time, predictedlocation accuracy, geographic locations or areas with the highestpredicted number of devices, geographic locations or areas with thehighest predicted bandwidth consumption, geographic locations or areaswith the lowest predicted number of devices, geographic locations orareas with the lowest predicted bandwidth consumption, geographiclocations and wireless coverage areas of other communications accesspoints available at the respective predicted locations and timesindicated in fields 604 and 607, or any other suitable information orcombination of information.

In some embodiments, information 600 may be represented visually in oneor more maps, graphs, charts, or in any other suitable form. Forexample, information 600 may be used to generate a two-dimensional heatmap showing the predicted locations and predicted bandwidth consumptionsof various devices at a future point in time. The visual representationmay be used as predicted location density information by a local office,a user, or both to reallocate network resources (e.g., by altering oneor more wireless coverage areas). The aforementioned additionalinformation and visual representations are not shown in FIG. 6 to avoidovercomplicating the figure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process flow 700 for providing a wirelesscommunications network or access thereto at a location where thewireless network was not previously available (e.g., in a “dead zone”).The wireless network may be any suitable wireless communications network(e.g., cellular, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, satellite) provided by a local office(e.g., local office 103 shown in FIG. 1 , local office 350 shown in FIG.3 , local office 450 shown in FIG. 4 ) using one or more communicationsaccess points (e.g.: communications access point 120, gateway 111 shownin FIG. 1 ; communications access point 310, communications access point340, gateway 330 shown in FIG. 3 ; communications access points 410,420, 430 shown in FIG. 4 ).

At step 701, a service provider, e.g., via the local office, provides,at a first point in time, access to a wireless network to a user deviceat a first location. For example, local office 350 shown in FIG. 3 mayuse communications access point 310 to provide access to a wirelessnetwork (e.g., in wireless coverage area 312 a) to device 301 located atlocation 302 a at a first point in time. In certain implementations, thewireless network may be associated with a service level agreement thatresults in predetermined data limits, allocated bandwidths,authentication/encryption processes, or other suitable processes orparameters.

At step 702, the provider or network management entity such as a networkadministrator determines whether or not the user device is traveling toa second location where the wireless network or access thereto islimited or not available. For example, access to the wireless network atthe second location may not be available at a time when the device willenter the second location. In an illustrative example, local office 350shown in FIG. 3 may monitor device 301 to determine whether device 301is moving towards an area where wireless coverage is not available(e.g., “dead zone” 320). In certain implementations, local office 350may determine that device 301 is traveling to location 302 b in “deadzone” 320 based on a detected decrease in wireless signal strength. Forexample, device 301 may be associated with an RSSI of “12.1” as shown insignal strength field 505 of location information row 512 of information500 shown in FIG. 5 , which may be less than a predetermined threshold(e.g., a threshold RSSI of “25.0”) for determining that device 301 ismoving towards “dead zone” 320. In certain implementations, the serviceprovider may initiate the determination when the user device is locatedwithin a predetermined range (e.g., 500 meters) of the boundary of thewireless coverage area to which it is connected. For example, device 301may be associated with a location indicated in field 504 of locationinformation row 513 of information 500 shown in FIG. 5 , which may be alocation within area 314 a shown in FIG. 3 (e.g., a predetermined rangeof the boundary of the wireless coverage area 312 a).

In another illustrative example, the provider may determine that theuser device is traveling to a second location where the wireless networkor access thereto is not available based on advance knowledge of route303 shown in FIG. 3 , determining or receiving information indicative ofvector 304, location information 500 shown in FIG. 5 associated with theuser device, predicted location information 600 shown in FIG. 6associated with the user device, or any other suitable information orcombination of information. For example, the provider may determine thata user device identified in field 503 of location information row 511shown in FIG. 5 is traveling to a predicted location indicated in field604 of predicted location information row 611 shown in FIG. 6 . Theprovider may process the information in field 604 and determine that thewireless network is not currently available at the predicted locationindicated in field 604 or will not be available at the predictedlocation indicated in field 604 at the predicted time of arrivalindicated in field 607.

If the provider, at step 702, determines that the user device is nottraveling to a second location where the wireless network is notavailable, process 700 may return to step 701 to accommodate subsequentlocations of travel of the user device.

If the provider or network administrator, e.g., via the local office, atstep 702, determines that the user device is traveling to a secondlocation where the wireless network is limited or not available at atime when the device will enter the second location, process 700 mayproceed to step 703. In some embodiments, after determining that thatthe user device is traveling to a second location where the wirelessnetwork is not available at the first time, process 700 may proceed tooptional step A, which is discussed in further detail with reference toFIG. 8 .

At step 703, the provider (or another network management facilityprovides, e.g., at a second point in time, access to the wirelessnetwork to the user device at the second location by extending thecoverage area of the wireless network in accordance with any suitablecombination of features or embodiments disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, the coverage area of the wireless network may beextended at step 703 by dynamically changing the power, direction, orboth of the communications access point (e.g., by changing thedirection, gain, or any other suitable parameter of the communicationsaccess point's wireless antenna). For example, the wireless networkprovided by communications access point 310 shown in FIG. 3 may beconfigurable to extend wireless coverage area 312 a to form wirelesscoverage area 312 b.

In some embodiments, the coverage area of the wireless network may beextended at step 703 by concentrating the wireless network in aparticular wireless coverage area based on location density informationfor a population of users or user devices. For example, the coveragearea of the wireless network provided by communications access points410, 420, and 430 shown in FIG. 4 may be extended to form overlappingwireless coverage area 440.

In some embodiments, the coverage area of the wireless network may beextended at step 703 by transferring services to another wirelessnetwork or, when multiple wireless networks are available at the secondlocation, selecting the best wireless network for the user device's useand instructing the user device to transfer to the selected wirelessnetwork. For example, device 301 shown in FIG. 3 may be instructed bylocal office 350 to transfer from the wireless network provided bycommunications access point 310 to the wireless network provided bycommunications access point 340 upon nearing or reaching the end of“dead zone” 320. In another example, when device 301 is located atlocation 302 c (e.g., within wireless coverage area 322 provided bycommunications access point 340 and wireless coverage area 332 providedby gateway 330), local office 350 may analyze the two available wirelessnetworks and select, for example, the wireless network provided bycommunications access point 340 because it has greater network coverageat the predicted future locations of device 301 (e.g., predictedlocations along route 303).

In some embodiments, the coverage area of the wireless network may beextended at step 703 by moving cached data from one server to anotherserver along a user's travel route. For example, in advance of device301 shown in FIG. 3 transferring service from communications accesspoint 310 to communications access point 340, media content may becopied or moved from content server 362 to content server 364 andtransmitted to device 301 from communications access point 340.

After step 703, process 700 may then return to step 701 to accommodatesubsequent locations of travel of the user device.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process flow 800 for extending thecoverage area of a wireless communications network using acommunications access point. Process 800 may be performed, for example,at or in advance of step 703 shown in FIG. 7 .

At step 801, the provider or network management entity such as a networkadministrator, e.g., via the local office, determines whether or not thesecond location is within an extended range capability of acommunications access point or other network component. For example,local office 350 shown in FIG. 3 , communications access point 310, orboth may determine that location 302 b is within an extended rangecapability of communications access point 310 because location 302 b isinside the maximum directionally extendable wireless coverage areaindicated by wireless coverage area 312 b. In another example,communications access point 310, local office 350 or both may determinethat location 302 c is not within an extended range capability ofcommunications access point 310 because location 302 c is outside themaximum directionally extendable wireless coverage area indicated bywireless coverage area 312 b. In certain implementations, thedetermination may be made in response to processing location information500 shown in FIG. 5 , predicted location information 600 shown in FIG. 6, or both. If the provider determines that the second location is withinan extended range capability of the communications access point, process800 may proceed to step 802. If the provider determines that the secondlocation is not within an extended range capability of thecommunications access point, process 800 may proceed to step 803.

At step 802, the provider causes the communications access point toextend the range of the wireless coverage area to form an extendedwireless coverage area that includes the second location. For example,local office 350 shown in FIG. 3 may cause communications access point310 to form extended wireless coverage area 312 b that includes location302 b in response to predicting that device 301 may be located atlocation 302 b at some point in the future. After step 802, process 800may proceed to optional step B and return to process 700 shown in FIG. 7.

At step 803, the provider identifies one or more wireless networksavailable at the second location. For example, local office 350 mayidentify two wireless networks available at location 302 c because afirst wireless network provided by communications access point 340 isavailable at location 302 c and a second wireless network is provided bygateway 330 is also available at location 302 c.

At step 804, the provider determines whether more than one wirelessnetwork is available at the second location. For example, the providermay determine that more than one wireless network is available at thesecond location if, for example, SSIDs for multiple wireless networksare being broadcast to the second location. In another example, localoffice 350 shown in FIG. 3 may determine that two wireless networks areavailable at location 302 c because a first available wireless networkis provided by communications access point 340 and a second wirelessnetwork is provided by gateway 330. In another example, local office 450shown in FIG. 4 may determine that three wireless networks are availableat a location in overlapping wireless coverage area 440 because awireless network is provided by different communications access points(e.g., communication access points 410, 420, and 430). If the providerdetermines that more than one wireless network is not available at thesecond location, process 800 may proceed to step 805. If the providerdetermines that more than one wireless network is available at thesecond location, process 800 may proceed to step 806.

At step 805, the provider instructs the user device to connect to thewireless network available at the second location. For example, localoffice 350 shown in FIG. 3 may transmit (e.g., upon device 301 reachingthe end of “dead zone” 320) data to device 301 via communications accesspoint 310 instructing device 301 to initiate a handshake with thewireless network provided by communications access point 340. In certainimplementations, the handshake may be performed between the two wirelessnetworks before it is needed (e.g., without the user of the userdevice's knowledge). Subsequently, when the user device has beeninstructed to connect to the wireless network available at the secondlocation, the transfer to the new wireless network may occurautomatically (e.g., when the user device travels out of the wirelesscoverage area of the first wireless network). After step 805, process800 may proceed to step B and return to process 700 shown in FIG. 7 .

At step 806, the provider may select one of the wireless networksavailable at the second location. For example, when multiple SSIDs areavailable at the second location, the provider may analyze the wirelessnetworks respectively associated with the SSIDs and select one of thewireless networks based on, for example, security requirements,available bandwidth, bandwidth capability (e.g., for maintainingtransmission of an HD movie along the user device's route), data rate,wireless signal strength, the user device's route or direction ortravel, the cost associated with using the network, the wirelesscoverage area of the network (e.g., larger coverage areas may increasethe possibility of maintaining coverage for a longer duration), or anyother suitable criteria. In another example, when device 301 is locatedat location 302 c (e.g., within wireless coverage area 322 provided bycommunications access point 340 and wireless coverage area 332 providedby gateway 330), local office 350 may analyze the two available wirelessnetworks and select, for example, the wireless network provided bycommunications access point 340 because it has greater network coverageat the predicted future locations of device 301 (e.g., predictedlocations along route 303). In certain implementations, the selectionmay be made in response to processing location information 500 shown inFIG. 5 , predicted location information 600 shown in FIG. 6 , or both.

At step 807, the provider instructs the user device to connect to theselected wireless network. For example, local office 350 shown in FIG. 3may select the wireless network provided by communications access point340 and transmit (e.g., upon device 301 reaching the end of “dead zone”320) data to device 301 via communications access point 310 instructingdevice 301 to initiate a handshake with the selected wireless network.After step 807, process 800 may proceed to step B and return to process700 shown in FIG. 7 .

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process flow 900 for providing access toor extending a wireless communications network in a wireless coveragearea based on location density information for a population of userdevices or users (e.g., wireless subscribers). In some embodiments, thelocation density information may include, or be determined from,location information 500 shown in FIG. 5 , predicted locationinformation 600 shown in FIG. 6 , or both. The wireless network may beany suitable wireless communications network (e.g., cellular, Wi-Fi,WiMAX, satellite) provided by a provider (e.g., via local office 103shown in FIG. 1 , local office 350 shown in FIG. 3 , local office 450shown in FIG. 4 ) using one or more communications access points (e.g.:communications access point 120, gateway 111 shown in FIG. 1 ;communications access point 310, communications access point 340,gateway 330 shown in FIG. 3 ; communications access points 410, 420, 430shown in FIG. 4 ).

At step 901, the provider provides, at a first point in time, access toa wireless network in a first wireless coverage area to a plurality ofuser devices respectively located at a plurality of first locationsbased on first location density information. For example, local office450 shown in FIG. 4 may use communications access points 410, 420, and430 to provide a wireless network in wireless coverage areas 412 a, 422a, and 432 a based on location density information indicated in locationinformation rows 511-513, 521-523, and 531-533 shown in FIG. 5 .

At step 902, the provider determines whether one or more of the userdevices are traveling or otherwise moving to one or more secondlocations. For example, local office 450 may determine that multiplewireless subscribers and their user devices are traveling from locationsin regions 412 a, 422 a, and 432 a to a conference venue (e.g., a hotel,an office building) at a location in region 440. In another example, theprovider may determine that the user devices respectively identified infield 603 of location information rows 611, 612, 622, 623, 631, and 633shown in FIG. 6 may be traveling to a predicted location indicated infield 604. In another example, the provider may analyze information 500shown in FIG. 5 , information 600 shown in FIG. 6 , or both anddetermine that user devices are traveling to one or more secondlocations based on migration patterns determined from increases ordecreases in local network traffic or bandwidth consumption ofparticular communications access points. If the provider determines thatone or more of the user devices are traveling to one or more secondlocations, process 900 may return to step 901 to accommodate subsequentlocations of travel of one or more of the user devices. If the providerdetermines that one or more of the user devices are traveling to one ormore second locations, process 900 may proceed to step 903.

At step 903, the provider determines second location density informationbased on the one or more second locations. For example, the provider maydetermine predicted location information 600 shown in FIG. 6 as thesecond location density information or a portion of the second locationdensity information. In certain implementations, the provider may updatethe user device locations included in the first location densityinformation with the predicted or estimated locations of the userdevices. For example, local office 103 shown in FIG. 1 may updatelocation information 500 shown in FIG. 5 with predicted locationsindicated in field 604 shown in FIG. 6 , predicted times of arrivalindicated in field 607, predicted connection information indicated infields 605 and 606, or any other suitable information to determine thesecond location density information.

At step 904, the provider provides the wireless network in a secondwireless coverage area based on the second location density information.For example, local office 350 shown in FIG. 3 may cause communicationsaccess point 310 to directionally extend wireless coverage area 312 a toform wireless coverage area 312 b based on second location densityinformation indicating that device 301 is traveling to a predicted orestimated second location (e.g., location 302 b). In another example,local office 450 shown in FIG. 4 may cause communications access points410, 420, and 430 to directionally extend their first wireless coverageareas (e.g., areas 412 a, 422 a, and 432 a, respectively) to form secondwireless coverage areas (e.g., areas 412 b, 422 b, and 432 b,respectively) and provide overlapping wireless coverage area 440 basedon dynamic changes in the population or bandwidth consumption of userdevices indicated by the second location density information.

After step 904, the provider may redefine second location densityinformation as the first location density information and the secondwireless coverage area as the first wireless coverage area. Process 900may then return to step 901 to accommodate subsequent locations oftravel of one or more of the user devices.

With the features described above, various advantages may be achieved.One advantage of the present technique is that the service provider mayprovide a wireless network in a “dead zone” without compromising thesecurity of the private network. Another advantage of the presenttechnique is that a negative user experience along a user's route oftravel may be avoided in some instances as a result of extending thewireless coverage area of the wireless network, guiding the connectionof the user's user device to a different wireless network, or both. As aresult, the user's user device may transfer service to a differentwireless network with minimal or no loss of service. Another advantageof the present technique is that user communications to a provider(e.g., phone calls, live chat, or emails to a customer serviceorganization associated with the provider) may be reduced because theuser's user devices are able to maintain wireless connectivity.Accordingly, user churn (e.g., the loss of subscribers) may be reducedin some instances because the user's wireless computing experience isenhanced.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: one or moreprocessors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the apparatus to: determine, at a firsttime, that a user device is located in a first wireless coverage area ofan access point and is connected to a wireless network; determine aroute associated with the user device; predict, based on the route, thatthe user device will not have access to the wireless network at a secondtime that is after the first time; and extend, based on the predictingand at the second time, the wireless network from the first wirelesscoverage area to a second wireless coverage area of the access point,wherein the second wireless coverage area is greater than the firstwireless coverage area.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theapparatus to predict that the user device will not have access to thewireless network at the second time further based on a decrease insignal strength.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the signalstrength comprises a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI); and theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further causethe apparatus to: determine a predicted RSSI for the user device at thesecond time; and extend the wireless network from the first wirelesscoverage area to the second wireless coverage area based on adetermination that the predicted RSSI for the user device at the secondtime is less than a threshold RSSI.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theapparatus to extend the wireless network by changing one or more of: adirection of one or more antennas; or a transmission power of thewireless network.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions,when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatusto send an instruction to the user device to connect to a second accesspoint.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determinethe route by determining the route based on one or more of social mediainformation associated with a user of the user device, calendarinformation associated with the user of the user device, electroniccommunication information associated with the user of the user device,or user preference information associated with the user of the userdevice.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determinethe route by receiving, via one or more of email, phone call, textmessage, instant message, or live chat, information indicating theroute.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determinethe route by determining the route based on a vector determined from apresent location of the user device and a previous location of the userdevice.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to extendthe wireless network by extending, based on routes of one or moreadditional user devices, the first wireless coverage area of the accesspoint to overlap with one or more wireless coverage areas of one or moreadditional access points.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions that, when executed, cause: determining, at a firsttime, that a user device is located in a first wireless coverage area ofan access point and is connected to a wireless network; determining aroute associated with the user device; predicting, based on the route,that the user device will not have access to the wireless network at asecond time that is after the first time; and extending, based on thepredicting and at the second time, the wireless network from the firstwireless coverage area to a second wireless coverage area of the accesspoint, wherein the second wireless coverage area is greater than thefirst wireless coverage area.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 10, wherein the predicting that the user device will nothave access to the wireless network at the second time is further basedon a decrease in signal strength.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the signal strengthcomprises a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), and wherein theinstructions, when executed, further cause: determining a predicted RSSIfor the user device at the second time, wherein the extending thewireless network from the first wireless coverage area to the secondwireless coverage area is based on a determination that the predictedRSSI for the user device at the second time is less than a thresholdRSSI.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the extending thewireless network by causing changing one or more of: a direction of oneor more antennas; or a transmission power of the wireless network. 14.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein theinstructions, when executed, further cause sending an instruction to theuser device to connect to a second access point.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the determining the route by causing determining theroute based on one or more of social media information associated with auser of the user device, calendar information associated with the userof the user device, electronic communication information associated withthe user of the user device, or user preference information associatedwith the user of the user device.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the determining the route by causing receiving, via oneor more of email, phone call, text message, instant message, or livechat, information indicating the route.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the determining the route by causing determining theroute based on a vector determined from a present location of the userdevice and a previous location of the user device.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein theinstructions, when executed, cause the extending by causing extending,based on routes of one or more additional user devices, the firstwireless coverage area of the access point to overlap with one or morewireless coverage areas of one or more additional access points.
 19. Asystem comprising: a computing device and a user device; wherein thecomputing device comprises: one or more first processors; and memorystoring first instructions that, when executed by the one or more firstprocessors, cause the computing device to: determine, at a first time,that the user device is located in a first wireless coverage area of anaccess point and is connected to a wireless network; determine a routeassociated with the user device; predict, based on the route, that theuser device will not have access to the wireless network at a secondtime that is after the first time; and extend, based on the predictingand at the second time, the wireless network from the first wirelesscoverage area to a second wireless coverage area of the access point,wherein the second wireless coverage area is greater than the firstwireless coverage area; and wherein the user device comprises: one ormore second processors; and memory storing second instructions that,when executed by the one or more second processors, cause the userdevice to connect to the wireless network.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein the first instructions, when executed by the one or more firstprocessors, cause the computing device to predict that the user devicewill not have access to the wireless network at the second time furtherbased on a decrease in signal strength.
 21. The system of claim 20,wherein: the signal strength comprises a Received Signal StrengthIndication (RSSI); and the first instructions, when executed by the oneor more first processors, further cause the computing device to:determine a predicted RSSI for the user device at the second time; andextend the wireless network from the first wireless coverage area to thesecond wireless coverage area based on a determination that thepredicted RSSI for the user device at the second time is less than athreshold RSSI.
 22. The system of claim 19, wherein the firstinstructions, when executed by the one or more first processors, causethe computing device to extend the wireless network by changing one ormore of: a direction of one or more antennas; or a transmission power ofthe wireless network.
 23. The system of claim 19, wherein the firstinstructions, when executed by the one or more first processors, furthercause the computing device to send an instruction to the user device toconnect to a second access point.
 24. The system of claim 19, whereinthe first instructions, when executed by the one or more firstprocessors, cause the computing device to determine the route bydetermining the route based on one or more of social media informationassociated with a user of the user device, calendar informationassociated with the user of the user device, electronic communicationinformation associated with the user of the user device, or userpreference information associated with the user of the user device. 25.The system of claim 19, wherein the first instructions, when executed bythe one or more first processors, cause the computing device todetermine the route by receiving, via one or more of email, phone call,text message, instant message, or live chat, information indicating theroute.
 26. The system of claim 19, wherein the first instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more first processors, cause the computing deviceto determine the route by determining the route based on a vectordetermined from a present location of the user device and a previouslocation of the user device.
 27. The system of claim 19, wherein thefirst instructions, when executed by the one or more first processors,cause the computing device to extend the wireless network by extending,based on routes of one or more additional user devices, the firstwireless coverage area of the access point to overlap with one or morewireless coverage areas of one or more additional access points.
 28. Anapparatus comprising: one or more processors; and memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe apparatus to: determine that a mobile device is located in a firstcoverage area of an access point associated with a wireless network andis connected to the wireless network; determine a route associated withthe mobile device; determine, based on the route, that the mobile deviceis within a range of a boundary of the first coverage area; and extend,based on the route associated with the mobile device, based on thedetermining that the mobile device is within the range of the boundary,and prior to the mobile device moving outside the boundary, access tothe wireless network from the first coverage area to a second coveragearea, of the access point, that includes a geographic location outsidethe boundary of the first coverage area.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28,wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the apparatus to determine the route by determining the routebased on a vector determined from a present location of the mobiledevice and a previous location of the mobile device.
 30. The apparatusof claim 28, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the apparatus to extend the access to the wirelessnetwork by extending, based on routes of one or more additional mobiledevices, the first coverage area of the access point to overlap with oneor more coverage areas of one or more additional access points.
 31. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted, cause: determining that a mobile device is located in a firstcoverage area of an access point associated with a wireless network andis connected to the wireless network; determining a route associatedwith the mobile device; determining, based on the route, that the mobiledevice is within a range of a boundary of the first coverage area; andextending, based on the route associated with the mobile device, basedon the determining that the mobile device is within the range of theboundary, and prior to the mobile device moving outside the boundary,access to the wireless network from the first coverage area to a secondcoverage area, of the access point, that includes a geographic locationoutside the boundary of the first coverage area.
 32. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the determining the route by causing determining theroute based on a vector determined from a present location of the mobiledevice and a previous location of the mobile device.
 33. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein theinstructions, when executed, cause the extending by causing extending,based on routes of one or more additional mobile devices, the firstcoverage area of the access point to overlap with one or more coverageareas of one or more additional access points.
 34. A system comprising:a computing device and a mobile device; wherein the computing devicecomprises: one or more first processors; and memory storing firstinstructions that, when executed by the one or more first processors,cause the computing device to: determine that the mobile device islocated in a first coverage area of an access point associated with awireless network and is connected to the wireless network; determine aroute associated with the mobile device; determine, based on the route,that the mobile device is within a range of a boundary of the firstcoverage area; and extend, based on the route associated with the mobiledevice, based on the determining that the mobile device is within therange of the boundary, and prior to the mobile device moving outside theboundary, access to the wireless network from the first coverage area toa second coverage area, of the access point, that includes a geographiclocation outside the boundary of the first coverage area; and whereinthe mobile device comprises: one or more second processors; and memorystoring second instructions that, when executed by the one or moresecond processors, cause the mobile device to connect to the wirelessnetwork.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the first instructions,when executed by the one or more first processors, cause the computingdevice to determine the route by determining the route based on a vectordetermined from a present location of the mobile device and a previouslocation of the mobile device.
 36. The system of claim 34, wherein thefirst instructions, when executed by the one or more first processors,cause the computing device to extend the access to the wireless networkby extending, based on routes of one or more additional mobile devices,the first coverage area of the access point to overlap with one or morecoverage areas of one or more additional access points.
 37. An apparatuscomprising: one or more processors; and memory storing instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatusto: determine that a user device is located in a first wireless coveragearea of an access point and is connected to a wireless network;determine a route associated with the user device; predict, based on theroute, that the user device will not have access to the wireless networkat a future time; and extend, based on the predicting and prior to thefuture time, the wireless network to a second wireless coverage area, ofthe access point, that includes a geographic location outside a boundaryof the first wireless coverage area.
 38. The apparatus of claim 37,wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the apparatus to predict that the user device will not have accessto the wireless network at the future time further based on a decreasein signal strength.
 39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theapparatus to extend the wireless network by changing one or more of: adirection of one or more antennas; or a transmission power of thewireless network.
 40. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further causethe apparatus to send an instruction to the user device to connect to asecond access point.
 41. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions that, when executed, cause: determining that a userdevice is located in a first wireless coverage area of an access pointand is connected to a wireless network; determining a route associatedwith the user device; predicting, based on the route, that the userdevice will not have access to the wireless network at a future time;and extending, based on the predicting and prior to the future time, thewireless network to a second wireless coverage area, of the accesspoint, that includes a geographic location outside a boundary of thefirst wireless coverage area.
 42. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 41, wherein the predicting that the user device will nothave access to the wireless network at the future time is further basedon a decrease in signal strength.
 43. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the extending the wireless network by causing changingone or more of: a direction of one or more antennas; or a transmissionpower of the wireless network.
 44. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 41, wherein the instructions, when executed, furthercause sending an instruction to the user device to connect to a secondaccess point.
 45. A system comprising: a computing device and a userdevice; wherein the computing device comprises: one or more firstprocessors; and memory storing first instructions that, when executed bythe one or more first processors, cause the computing device to:determine that the user device is located in a first wireless coveragearea of an access point and is connected to a wireless network;determine a route associated with the user device; predict, based on theroute, that the user device will not have access to the wireless networkat a future time; and extend, based on the predicting and prior to thefuture time, the wireless network to a second wireless coverage area, ofthe access point, that includes a geographic location outside a boundaryof the first wireless coverage area; and wherein the user devicecomprises: one or more second processors; and memory storing secondinstructions that, when executed by the one or more second processors,cause the user device to connect to the wireless network.
 46. The systemof claim 45, wherein the first instructions, when executed by the one ormore first processors, cause the computing device to predict that theuser device will not have access to the wireless network at the futuretime further based on a decrease in signal strength.
 47. The system ofclaim 45, wherein the first instructions, when executed by the one ormore first processors, cause the computing device to extend the wirelessnetwork by changing one or more of: a direction of one or more antennas;or a transmission power of the wireless network.
 48. The system of claim45, wherein the first instructions, when executed by the one or morefirst processors, further cause the computing device to send aninstruction to the user device to connect to a second access point.